The first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final between Real Madrid and Barcelona will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu, whoever draws first blood would obviously have an edge.

Alvaro Arbeloa is suspended, he was sent off against Malaga for two bookable offenses. Fabio Coentrao is expected to be handed a start by Mourinho, the player is expected to deputize for Arbeloa.

Pepe is also struggling ahead of this all important tie, he had had thigh problems but is expected to start, a late fitness test would determine his fate.

Sami Khedira is also unavailable because of an ankle injury, the player was injured against Malaga. Lassana Diarra may start but his performance against Real Mallorca was a big let down, he was all over the place and was replaced as soon as the second-half started.

Angel di Maria is also out for this game, he was recovering and training well but a fresh injury in training has ruined his chances of playing against Barcelona.

Callejon is expected to profit from Di Maria's absence, he scored the winning goal against Mallorca and is expected to start tonight.

Barcelona also have a couple of problems, Seydou Keita is unavailable because the player is competing in the African Cup of Nations. Fontas is another absentee, he has a serious knee problem which he picked up against Osasuna in the last round of the Copa del Rey.

Pedro, David Villa and Ibrahim Afellay are also unavailable, Pedro's problem isn't too serious but Villa and Afellay continue to recover from serious injuries. Villa is nursing a broken foot, the striker broke his foot against Al Sadd in the Club World Cup which Barcelona won beating Santos in the final.

Victor Valdes is expected to be rested for this game, Pinto will start in goal for the away team.

Away goals are really important and can easily decide this tie, the home team simply can't afford to concede too many away goals.

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